26 Sep 2013

Recently I have had a lot of clients ask me what they can do in hotel gyms. Usually they will have a good set of dumbbells and we all know the possibilities are endless with those!! More on that on another post. However there is one piece of machinery that never fails to appear in a hotel gym. Oh yes, the faithful treadmill. So here is something super fun to try, it is one of my personal favorites!

Jump on that mill and warm-up by walking at first then gradually start building up the incline and the speed until you are pretty much running uphill. OK, brace yourself to the handlebars and jump off, on foot on each side of the treadmill.

Look at the timer and perform a classic Tabata. Jump on max effort for 20s then jump off (hold on tight!!) for 10s, repeat 8 rounds. Awesome. You might want to practice the jump on/jump off thing a few times first to get used to it but once you get it, super fun!

19 Sep 2013

Mobility drills are awesome for active recovery days, however they can be a little rough or painful (and possibly injurious) if we start them cold and wound up from the previous day’s slaughter. J From my experience with myself and with clients, I have found that the drills are much more effective if you take some time to heat up first. Warming up (gently!) increases your circulation and body temperature making it easier for those muscles and joints to go through the ranges of motion required.

Speaking of ranges of motion, it is always a good idea to start off with all those joint circles (DROMs) and then heat up.

Suggestions in the box: after your DROMS, row or bike at a soft pace, perform some sets of Hollow Rocks, sit for a few minutes relaxing in the bottom of a squat (third world style), whatever it takes that is gentle and will slowly warm you up. Then get a band and a ball and hit those mob drills!

Remember the posters in the back of the box! On the next part, I will write about how to choose/prioritize these drills.